When you think of a young kid finally making it big in F1, you tend to assume their first car will be something will be something obscenely fast for the road. McLaren’s Lando Norris did things differently. The first car he bought with his own money was this 1972 Fiat 500 Jolly Evocation, and now it could be yours.
Just 650 Fiat 500s were converted to the legendary Jolly status by Ghia, making them highly prized and extremely rare. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them. Instead, it’s an “Evocation,” but that’s okay, it means that Norris didn’t feel weird about really using it, nor sharing it with friends, like teammate Oscar Piastri, who was recently seen driving it.
It also means that the rust on the grab handles and the canopy are no big deal. The inevitable result of having been taken to the salty beaches of Monaco during Norris’s off-time, the non-original status means that the car’s next owner can fix them in whatever way is most economical when it comes time to do so.
Read: Lewis Hamilton’s First Race-Winning Mercedes F1 Car May Sell For $15 Million
Elsewhere, the car presents well, but isn’t quite perfect. Some bubbling can be seen under the light blue Gelato paint, which is said to be in fantastic condition otherwise. Meanwhile, the whitewall tires, the high-quality caramel carpet, and the wicker seats all do an excellent job of evoking the original Jolly and its beachy spirit.
The Veglia dial shows that there are around 36,500 km (22,680 miles) on the 499cc air-cooled Fiat engine. An ideal runabout, the 500 is being sold as Norris enjoys a run of successes and podium finishes, which will no doubt improve its value.
“Cars with famous former owners are popular on Car & Classic, but taking one off the hands of a current F1 driver, especially one in a rich vein of form, is a rare opportunity,” says Car & Classic head of editorial Dale Vinten. “Lando Norris has proven he knows the optimal way to get around the streets of Monte Carlo in a McLaren, and his beloved Jolly proves he knows how to do the same when he’s off-duty too.”
The auction is being handled by Car & Classic, and it runs from October 26 to 31. Estimates suggest that it will sell for between £28,000 and £33,000 ($34,143 to $40,241 USD at current exchange rates).
